A Summer to Remember
by ruk182
Summary: Over the summer, Greg bonds with Rodrick's new girlfriend, and would do anything for her. But there are things about her he doesn't know. Rodrick/OC  I'm updating now? :D
1. The Girl Who Likes Explosions

**The Girl Who Like Explosions**

**Greg's 'Journal'**

_July 4th_

_I think Rodrick has died. He's been acting waaaay different lately. Today, he even made me my breakfast after he 'accidentally' woke me up way to early, and he hasn't been threatening me, or playing any tricks on me all week. And I think I saw him smiling this morning… It's scaring me a little. Anyway, he can't be trusted anymore ( as if I had ever trusted him before!)._

_I'm going to Rowley's today to play his Wii, but I have to come home for dinner, because we're suppose to go see some fireworks tonight. But mom said I could invite Rowley to come with us. And Rodrick said he had something special to tell us. Maybe he decided to stop be such a jerk, and stop that stupid noise he calls music._

_Hey, a guy can always dream, right?_

"Rowley is here," I heard mom call from downstairs.

"Coming!" I replied, grabbing my journal and putting it in the top drawer of my dresser. I hurried downstairs, quickly put on my shoes, and opened the door. "Hi Rowley."

"Greg, take your coat in case it rains," mom told me.

"Fine." I grabbed my coat before leaving the house.

"Bye, little bro," Rodrick called after me.

"Let's get out of here before I go crazy," I said, grabbing Rowley 's arm and running off down the street. I turned back to see Rodrick standing in the window, waving and smiling like a maniac.

"Greg, we're gonna have so much fun- whoa! What's wrong with him?"

"Weird, isn't it? Let's just go."

"O...kay… Anyway, mom got me a new game, and I haven't played it yet. I bet it'll fun though."

"What game?"

"Cooking Mama," Rowley replied cheerfully. I sighed.

* * *

"That supper was amazing, Mrs. Helfley," exclaimed Rowley, climbing into the backseat of the car next to me. We were on our way to the fireworks. Roderick was taking his van, and had left before the rest of us had even finished our supper.

"Why, thank-you, Rowley. I just wish a certain someone could appreciate my cooking as much as you do," mom replied, casting me a fiery glance. I laughed nervously.

The drive was filled with Rowley and I asking 'Are we there yet' repeatedly to see how long it would be before dad cracked, but he managed to keep his cool the whole time.

"Keep an eye out for Roderick, everybody," dad told us as we got out of the van. "Oh, look, there he is!"

"Dad!" We all turned to see Rodrick running toward us. With his dark purple skinny jeans and black System of a Down t-shirt and his black eyeliner, I sometimes wonder if mom might have dropped him on his head when he was a baby. He stopped and turned around. "Come on, I'm sure nobody'll hate you."

"Ev'ry bloody time! I've told you a million times how frustra'ing it is trying to run in these stupid bloody boots!" cried an annoyed but humorous voice. I knew it had to be a girl, with an English accent or something.

That's when she stepped into view.

She had long, wavy brown hair, and bright hazel eyes. She wore bright yellow skinny jeans, black knee-high boots, a black t-shirt that read "The Cranberries", and a unzippered purple sweater. She reminded me a lot of Rodrick: skinny and kind of... scary looking. But she didn't wear makeup like he did. Which was weird. She ran ahead of Rodrick quite suddenly, then turned around so we could see the green shamrock on the back of her sweater. That's when Rodrick seemed to trip on something. She bent over and started laughing like a maniac.

"Cute butt," I heard Rowley whisper. "I think I finally got it."

I swallowed hard. "Yep." I looked up to see the girl standing right in front of me. She held out her hand.

"'Ello, I'm Irish," she said.

"Nice to meet you, Irish..." To my surprise, she started laughing again.

"That's not my name! I just like establish that fact when meeting someone new. You can call me Cookie."

"So you're Irish?"

"Okay, no, I'm Canadian. I just like to test out my fake accent sometimes. But I'm _part _Irish." This time she spoke without an accent. "Fun, eh? And just so you know, we Canadians do not say 'eh' all the time, got it buddy?"

"Name's Greg," I said, taking her hand and shaking it. "Rodrick's little brother."

"I know that! Rodrick told me all about you. He told about how much you two love each other, and always do things together... Sounds cute." She leaned in closer to me. "Actually, I don't believe him. I have a little brother and, even though I love him and think he's the cutest thing ever, things aren't like that at all. We get on well most of the time, but... brothers in middle school destroying your reputation are annoying."

"Trust me, I never hear the end of it," I sighed. She smiled and was about to reply when Rodrick grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along with him. I heard her mutter something like, "I'm not some sort of object..."

"Mom, dad, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend," he announced.

"Hi, Cookie, nice to meet you." She offered her hand.

"What kind of name is that?" my mom asked her.

"My real name is just down right awful, trust me. My mother herself can't stand it." There was an awkward silence, and mom and dad looked away.

"Anyway... she just moved here with her family. She lives just down the street from us, actually."

"We're the ones with all the cats." Again: silence.

"Umm, well, let's get set up then," said dad, popping open the trunk and getting out our camping chairs. Rodrick and Cookie grabbed two chairs each (Manny was going to sit on dad's lap) then showed us back to their picnic blanket where they set up our chairs. They sat down on their blanket and Cookie took out her iPod and put one ear bud in her ear, the other in Rodrick's. Then they kissed each other. It was a bit gross.

"They're going to start soon," mom told us.

"I do love a good a firework show," said Cookie. "So many pretty colors... And I like that they're explosions. Just something else that adds to the awesome factor."

"That's, umm, wonderful," dad said.

* * *

"Rodrick, honey, can you take Greg and Rowley with you? The car is a little crowded." Roderick sighed, and looked over at me.

"No problem, mom."

Rowley, Cookie, Rodrick and I all climbed into the van and we took off. Cookie didn't stop chatting the whole time. She seemed as if she always had a story to tell. Her old friends sounded so interesting, too. The best part was that she had a great sense of humor, and could make the sad things seem comical.

"Well, this is where I get off," Cookie said, opening her door. "Bye, you guys." She got out and walked around to Roderick's opened window. The entire mood seemed to go down the toilet all of a sudden. She stuck her head in the window, and Rodrick whispered something I couldn't hear, then he kissed her. But not like they had earlier, but like they do movies just before dad turns off the TV and says it's time to go to bed. Then she walked off and went into her house.

Rodrick turned around, his eyes red. "If you tell mom about that, I'll kill you," he said.

"Are- are you crying?" I asked. "What's going on?"

"N-n-no, I'm not. Things are... they're complicated. You wouldn't be able to understand it."

_Finally back home in my nice warm bed. It was a little cold outside, but Cookie lent me her jacket. I thought tonight was a lot of fun, but I don't know why Rodrick and Cookie seemed sad. I'm a little worried about them. What if something bad happened? I don't know what it could be, but I plan on finding out. But at least I think I know why Rodrick has been acting so differently lately._

_Rodrick is in love!_


	2. Popcorn Spice & Fog Machines

**To anyone who can find the 'How I Met Your Mother' reference, cookies for you! You'll notice that Zachary Gordon was in that episode if you look closely at Ted's Cousin's son... Huh, and he was still a wimpy kid then, too!**

* * *

**Popcorn Spice & Fog Machines**

**Greg's 'Journal'**

_July 7th_

"Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to..."

"Yes, I do. You don't understand"

"I think I do. You think you need to prove yourself to me, but I think you're fine the way you are."

"No, I'm doing this for me. Besides, it's not like it'll kill me... right?"

I never thought I'd find myself here. Starring down the barrel of a flavor shaker. The smell was really strong. Like, REALLY strong. I almost started to drool.

"I can do this," I said. I didn't sound too confident. I looked up at Cookie, who gave me a thumbs up and an encouraging smile. Rodrick was looking me over, just waiting for me to chicken out. But I couldn't back down now.

"Look, you really-"

"Ssh, he's gonna do it!"

I took a deep breath, tilted my head back, and shook. I will never forget that taste.

Dill pickle.

I tasted it, smelt it, breathed it, heard it. It was terrible. I mean, it's fine on chips or popcorn, but raw spice?

It burned. First, just my tongue. Then my throat. My nose was on fire! I don't even know how that happened. I had seen Cookie 'do lines' - as she called it - of the stuff. She snorted it in. I would be surprised if she could smell anymore...

"Are you okay?" Cookie was looking at me. She was really close. At least, I think. Now she wasn't. Now she was. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Eleven?"

And the whole time, Rodrick was gasping for breath while laughing his butt off.

* * *

"Here, Greg, drink this. Water."

Ah, sweet relief.

"Thanks, Cookie."

"That was hilarious," Rodrick said.

"I'm glad the poor thing blacking out was amusing to you."

"You know I'm just kidding, babe. Sorry, Greg."

"I... can't believe you do that all the time..." I said. I took another drink of the water. The burning had almost stopped. My eyes were still watering though, and I couldn't smell anything.

"Since grade one, baby. Woo!" She quickly calmed herself and sat down next to me on the couch. "I'm really sorry Greg. I feel really bad about all this... I'm a terrible person!"

"Well, maybe... But you're still fun. Right, Rodrick?"

"Heck yeah! Remember when you..." He paused when he saw the way she was looking at him. "...with the Red Vines?"

"I thought we would never speak of that again."

"What-?"

"Don't you worry your little head, Gregory," said Cookie. She got up and hit Rodrick real hard on the arm.

"Oww!"

I didn't think I really wanted to know, anyway.

"Get some rest, bud." She stood up. "You're still going to see a film with Rowley tonight, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

I looked at Rodrick, who said, "I would stay away from the popcorn spices, if I were you."

She hit him again. "Shut it, you!" I laughed a little. "What movie, then?"

"Some Disney movie, I think... You know-"

"Oh, yes!" She got very excited. I don't know why... Disney isn't that great. Too babyish for me, even. "Please, Rodrick, can we go too?"

"What? Why?" He looked horrified. I smiled.

"I love Disney! We were going to see something anyway, so why not go with the boys? Carpooling!"

"I don't know..." He really didn't look happy.

Now that I thought about it, I didn't really want to see a movie with Rodrick, anyway... I mean, would you? To let him drive me around in that deathtrap is one thing... But sitting next to him _and_ his girlfriend for two hours..? I don't mean to give him too much credit, but he's an animal. Get them in a dark room, and... I don't want to talk about it.

Besides, it's hard to enjoy a movie when he's making fun of it the whole time. The movie won't make it out alive. And neither will I.

Rodrick sighed. "...Alright. But don't expect me to like it."

* * *

"I loved it!"

"That. Was. Amazing!"

"It really wasn't that great..."

"Don't say such things Greg!" Rodrick gasped. I stared at him for a while. Was he crying? "It was beautiful, and so sad! I-I..."

No, he couldn't be crying.

Cookie wiped the tears from her own eyes and looked up him. "Aww, Rodrick..."

"The tears just... won't stop!" He bit his thumb, and made that face he always made when he was faking sick and was trying to look like he was in pain. Cookie kissed him and hugged him tightly. He looked at me over her shoulder and smiled. He gave me a thumbs up.

When she stepped back, he went back to the frown and fake tears and took her hand in his. Sometimes, I worry about him. I hope I never have to put on an act just to get a girl to like me. I'm already pretty great.

I looked back at Rowley, who was dragging behind. He looked me, and I saw he was crying too. "Don't tell me you actually liked it..." I sighed.

"I don't know... I guess I kinda did..."

I shook my head. "Honestly, Rowley..."

* * *

The day I visited the Tennemen household was a very strange one. I knew Cookie was a little crazy - okay, a LOT crazy - but I didn't think she come from a household of shouting nut jobs who owned expensive stage equipment to use when playing video games. Which, you have to admit, is a little awesome.

It all started when Rodrick was _supposed_ to look after me when mom and dad went out for the weekend. His band was playing that night, so he dropped me off at Cookie's that afternoon so he could practice in peace. Rodrick's band needed all the practice it could get.

I'll admit, I was a little excited when he hauled me up the steps and knocked on the door. Even if my arm was hurting where he had grabbed me, but that doesn't really matter.

When the door opened, I saw a man who was maybe a few years older than Rodrick, who was holding a book. Finally, another semi-intelligent human being! And he wasn't wearing eyeliner. What a relief.

The entryway was split into two sections: one was a long stairway going down to the basement, the other leading to the living room, where there was a spiral staircase going upstairs.

The man stared at Rodrick for a while, and didn't look to pleased to see him for some reason. Actually, I can think up a list about a mile long why somebody wouldn't be happy to see Rodrick.

"Take a picture, Ennis, it'll last longer," Rodrick said finally.

"Arizlynn... Rodrick is here..!"

Arizlynn? Wow, that was a horrible name.

"Arizlynn?"

"Coming, coming..." She came running up the stairs, a woman about the same age as Ennis trailing after her. "Sorry I made you wait, Violet locked me in my room..."

"She was being a brat by not helping me with the plans!"

"Yeah, um, why on heaven and Earth would I want to help you anymore after you said my ideas were trash and broke my extremely expensive pencils which I had to pay for with money I earned from my summer job you made me get because you didn't want me around..."

"Of course I don't want you around; your clothes and excessive baby fat are an eyesore..."

"Yeah, um, probably because you refuse to by me new clothes! I've had these for two years!

"Well, I need that money for the wedding. So excuse me for wanting the most perfect wedding ever..!"

We all stood in silence for a moment, before Rodrick shoved me forward, said, "Have fun you two," and ran out the door as fast as his legs could carry him. I would have too. I was starting to get a little scared.

Cookie took me downstairs to her room and slammed the door shut. She flopped down on her bed and sighed. "Sorry about that... Violet is Grinch."

Except she didn't say Grinch. She said a very bad word.

"She thinks she's my mother or something. I hate American women. Spoiled brats, they are... And Ennis wonders why I usually spend the night at your place..." She quickly sat up and stared at me with wide eyes. "Oops. That's a secret. Hush hush."

"So, where are your parents, anyway?" I asked, shaking off the disbelief and possible disgust of what she had just said.

"Away," she said. She motioned for me to come sit with her. "And they ain't coming back anytime soon. Maybe later this month for the wedding. But I don't know..."

We sat in silence for a bit. I guess I didn't really know what to say. I wanted know where her parents were exactly, but I didn't know if I should even ask.

"So, Arizlynn...?" We both laughed.

"Yeah, I told you it was bad." She smiled.

"It's not so bad..."

"Yes, it is."

"Yeah, it kind of is."

"But I don't mind when your brother calls me that." She paused. "Anything sounds good coming from the lips of an angel."

I gagged. And shuddered. Violently. "So... you really like Rodrick, huh?" At this point, I was trying really hard not to throw up all over her bright green carpet.

Cookie just shrugged and giggled. "I guess."

There was a knock at the door, and Ennis popped his head in. "Have you seen the fog machine? Kaelbus and I are playing Guitar Hero."

"Um, I think it's with the cricket wickets from that thing with the dance pants and the yahoo."

"Do you guys wanna play with us?"

_So, I guess Ennis is pretty cool. So is Kaelbus, Cookie's younger brother. He's a lot like her. He looks a little like her too, and talks like her and they share a lot of interests, even though he's like four years younger. And Ennis is funny. He and Cookie have the same sense of humour._

_But just I don't get Violet. Why is she a part of their lives if they're so great and she's so... mean? Because she is. So why would Ennis ever let her into the family if she would use the power she had to control the younger sister he actually likes? It just doesn't make any sense! I guess big brothers are just... weird._

_It kinda reminds me of how mom and dad left me with Rodrick for the weekend... It was a bad idea._


	3. The Art Of Waking Up Rodrick

Umm, wow. It's been a while, I realise. I don't expect a big welcome, but I promise you that from now on I will be updating consistently until I'm sick of this story. I don't know if you've notice this, but this story was the first one in the category here, and I'm ready to take it back by storm. Who's with me?!  
And yes, I went to see Dog Days in the theaters. It was amazing.

**Okay, let us begin, girls!.. and boys, sorry.**

* * *

**The Art Of Waking Up Rodrick**

**Greg's 'Journal'**

_July 8th_

Cookie was lying face-down on the couch when I got up and went to have breakfast. I guess mom, dad and Manny weren't back yet.

I stopped half-way down when I noticed her. She must have been asleep, but sh didn't snore like Rodrick did, so I didn't mind. And I didn't really want to wake her up, so I tiptoed down the rest of the stairs and went into the kitchen to get some cereal.

"I can hear you breathing, Gregory Heffley, and I'm a very light sleeper," she called, but her voice was a little muffled because she was talking into the couch cushion. When I walked in she sat up and looked at me, rubbing her eyes and stretching. "And, umm, that wasn't me." She pointed to a wet spot where her face had been. "I don't drool. I swear."

"Yeah, heh, right... neither do I..."

"If you want breakfast, I brought some pancake mix with me. I'm the pancake flipping queen, too." She yawned and stretched. "It's way too early to be up. What time is it?"

"Um, two. In the afternoon."

"Aha! Just as I suspected. The internal clock never lies." She stood up and stretched some more. "See, I know it's impossible to wake Rodrick up, but he can't resist the smell of food. So, want to help me with the pancakes? I brought some bacon, too!" She held up a bag, shook it, and smiled down at me. "I though about just making a cake but, for breakfast? That'd be setting a bad example."

"Sort of like breaking into people's houses? That's setting a bad example."

"Psh, I didn't break in; your bedroom window was unlocked, silly. Though it's regrettable, I don't know how to pick a lock, nor do I have the strength to break one."

"Why do you talk like that?" I asked.

"Like what?"

"All smart and stuff." It felt like a stupid question.

Cookie laughed. "Have you every _met _your brother? Even if he makes up for it in other ways, he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Can you imagine what it would look like if _he _were the smart one in the relationship? I abhor the stereotypes associated with teenage girlhood, and refuse to allow anyone to apply them to me. I mean, are you sick of society generalizing you? You must get the worst of it, as a teenage boy, being so wimpy 'n all..."

Yup, she was crazy. I had no idea what she was talking about. "Uh... yeah. Pancakes?"

"Pancakes!"

We went into the kitchen, and I got her two pans while she took the stuff out of her bag. I helped her find just a couple things she needed. Apparently you have to add things to pancake mix, because it comes dry, but I didn't find that out until _after_ she explained it to me. How was I supposed to know? Mom just handed me a couple on a plate and that was it.

"So, I'm guessing you're not really used to being in the kitchen." I nodded. "Well, it is my pleasure to have you as my assistant and guide you through this experience. Could you please turn on the front two burners of the stove? Yup, there."

I turned both know all the way around. She laughed, showed me how to do it properly. I wasn't used to using the stove. I wasn't allowed to. I just made myself sandwiches, or microwave dinners when I had to. I don't know how she was so handy in the kitchen.

She told me we had to wait a bit for the pans to heat up. I got the pancake batter ready while she laid out the bacon. After a dew minutes, she poured the batter into one of the pans and made three circles. "You'll know it's ready to flip when it starts to bubble. But first..." She grabbed the bag of chocolate chips she brought, opened it, and sprinkled some on each pancake. "I hope you don't mind."

I really didn't mind.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked

"You just did. But you may ask another should you choose."

"Where _are _your parents?"

"They're... um... somewhere in Afghanistan at the moment. I think. Canadian armed forces."

"Oh." I didn't expect that. I sort of felt sorry for her, even if it seemed like they had a lot of fun without her parents around, she looked sad when I asked.

"Yeah. It kind of sucks, having them so far away most of the time. But Ennis looks after us while they're gone. Unfortunately, that gives him the power to do just about anything he wants to us, like move us to a different country just to chase after some stupid girl... But it's alright, there wasn't ever much going on back home."

"They're bubbling."

"Yeah, I got it." She grabbed the spatula and quickly flipped them all quickly, but they didn't flip very cleanly. When she saw the look on my face, she just laughed. "I may have used the term 'pancake flipping queen' a little loosely."

"Heh, no kidding."

* * *

Once the bacon started sizzling, Rodrick was in the kitchen within seconds. Cookie was right, but I wasn't surprised; she was right about a lot of things. It took a lot to wake him up, but at the same time, it didn't take that much at all...

When everything was done, we took everything to the table and sat down together and served ourselves. The pancakes were really gross looking, but I knew they couldn't be too bad. Cookie used a _lot _of maple syrup.

"Mmm... These are actually really good!" I said with my mouth full of pancakes.

"Complete messes," Rodrick added before shoveling more into his mouth. "But delicious." He chewed a bit. "And the bacon: perfect."

"Good," Cookie said. "I'm glad you like it. I was hoping to get you into a good mood this morning- er, afternoon, because we need to breakup." Her face was very serious.

Rodrick and I dropped our forks and cried out, "What? NO!"

She burst out laughing and nibbled on a piece of bacon. "Nah, I'm just joking. But that was hilarious." We stared at her for a long time, until she stopped laughing. "It's good to know Gregory cares about me too," she added. "But, in all seriousness; I'm pregnant."

"What? No! That doesn't even make any sense! How could this even- How did..? Why?" Rodrick actually cried. As in he cried. As in he was crying now. He flopped face-first down into his plate of pancakes and started _whining_. It was pretty awesome.

I looked at Cookie. She smiled and shook her head. I had to wonder what was wrong with her, and why she liked playing such mean jokes, but then I realized something: I liked them too. Rodrick's pain _was_ pretty funny, and, even though I tried not, I started laughing. She started laughing too.

Hearing us laugh, Rodrick looked up at us, his face covered in syrup. "That's not really funny. Unlike you, I have dreams, and an awesome talent that I have to share with the world."

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Sourpuss." She stuck her tongue out at him. And I laughed some more. But then I started thinking. And then I stopped laughing, and just stared at my plate for a while. I looked over at Cookie, then at Rodrick, then back at my plate. "Is something wrong, Gregory?"

"I don't understand... Why would Rodrick... and how..?" I guess didn't have an real question. I didn't know what to ask, exactly, or... how to ask it.

Rodrick narrowed his eyes and leaned over the table toward me. "Wha...?" he started to ask, but stopped and sat straight up. "Oh." He looked at Cookie, who looked at him, then at me, then at her plate. We all sat and stared at our plates for a bit. "Hey, babe, wanna go-"

"Yes."

She got up and immediately disappeared. Rodrick stood up slowly, watching me carefully. "What just-" I started to ask, but he cut me off.

"I don't know what you're trying to get at, but don't try and..." He thought for a second. "...get at it."

"But-"

"Ah!"

"What-"

"NOPE." He pointed at me and made his scary 'I'm watching you' face, then started walking away backward. When he got to the stairs, he ran up after her. After a few seconds, I could hear loud music coming from his room.

I shuddered.


	4. How To Return a Favor

Welcome back, my friends. It's only take me three years to get into this story... Heh. If you have some suggestions, PM me or something. I love reviews, too. They're helpful. Tell me what you like, what you don't; it helps me get better at writing, which is something I (obviously) like to do. Writing from the point of views of guys less intelligent than me; not my forte. So, yeah, review, fav...  
Psh, I don't care. Do what you want, as long as you enjoy.  
The following mistakes in italics are purposeful.

* * *

**How To Return A Favor**

**Rodrick's 'Journal'**

_July 8st _No, wait, after midnight. I crossed it out and wrote, _9st_

_deer diary,  
loock, i'm sorry i haven't talked to you in a wile but i've been reelly busy lately. you no i have a girlfreind now and i just haven't had the time. but a lot has hapenned that i need to tell you. badly. and everywon is sleepin i guess so i should probably start now wile i have the chanse.  
first of all, greg is being a little sh –_

I heard something, so I threw my _journal_ into one of the dark corners of my room, and put my short pencil stub in my mouth to hide any evidence of that stupid thing. If anyone knew I actually wrote in that thing, my life would. Be. Over. Plus I've written, like, a lot of important... _personal _things down in there. I could let anyone read it. EVER.

Mom got me that stupid thing, anyway. I don't know why. Unlike Greg, I have _real_ friends that I talk to all the time. I don't know why I write in it, either. It's just stupid. Like I'd ever feel 'upset' enough to want to cry to a stupid book. Grow up, Susan. I just used it to keep track of my awesome life so that when I Löded Diper get's big, people will get to read it and be jealous of its pure awesomeness. It's not like I'll be answering questions when there are all kinds of chicks _begging _to be with me.

"Papa bird has flown the coop. I repeat; papa bird has flown the coop, and I'm _pissed._"

Arizlynn was climbing in through my window. She could climb up _anything_. She should think about a career in climbing. And then she could wear those little climbing shorts. Those things are hot. Her legs are _amazing_, so she looks _hot_ in shorts. So it'd be, like, double the hotness, and her legs are really strong, so she'd probably be good at it. And she can climb up anything. Yeah, she should think about that career. Yeah.

"Okay, so you know how I have that faulty underwear drawer, right?" she asked, sitting next to me on my bed. I couldn't because of the pencil in my mouth. I turned around and spit it on the floor.

"No."

"Well, so there's like my underwear, and you can lift the bottom of the drawer up, and there are a bunch of boxes of... you know, right?" I nodded. "And then you can lift the bottom of _that_ up, and there's a stack of magazines I shouldn't have. But under _that_, there's a stash of all sort of chocolate and little snack cakes. But after Violet sent me to my room for, like, breathing too loud, she waltzed right in, opened up my drawer, and took _all of it. _Eighty bucks worth, all smuggled in from Canada; gone. So no supper or anything. It just... sucks."

I didn't say anything, or even look at her. I just got up, and walked downstairs, and into the kitchen. I made a couple chicken sandwiches, poured two glasses of orange juice, and got some Oreos. Then the lights went on.

"Rodrick! What are you doing?!" I turned around, and dad was standing there, in his house coat. He looked pretty tired.

"Getting a snack. What does it look like?"

"Why do you have two glasses of juice?"

"So I don't have to come back down later? Uh, it's called strategy; heard of it?"

He sighed. "It's 2 AM and you're having sandwiches?"

"I'm hungry."

"Two of them?"

"I'm... growing?"

He rubbed his forehead "Fine. You know what? Whatever. I don't care. I'm going to back to bed."

It took a while to balance everything right so that I could carry it all, and then I went back up to my room where Arizlynn was waiting, and set it all down on the floor. "Your feast, miss." She stood up slowly, stared at me for a while, and smiled. She took my hand and pulled me down to the floor to sit down.

"Okay, you've earned it; I won't talk anymore. Not a word. I promise."

"You made me breakfast, so..." She did that thing when you pretend to zip you lips shut. I brushed some hair out of her face. "Good luck eating." She unzipped her lips, and started eating one of the sandwiches.

We finished our sandwiches, Oreos, and then drank our juice. We stayed on the floor, and she leaned against me and I put my arm around her waist. I didn't know what to do know; I didn't really want to sit on the floor. My butt was hurting. But her hair smelled really nice, so I waited for her to do something.

"I know I said I wouldn't talk or anything, but really? You're just going to sit on the floor?"

"Pfft, no. I just... umm..."

She kissed me. Probably so that I'd stop talking. I didn't mind It was better than me talking.

* * *

"Rodrick?"

"Yeah?"

"You're eating my hair."

I opened my eyes. There was a lot of hair in my face. Some of it was... wet. "I... dreamed that I was, like, eating this big bowl of spaghetti, except I didn't have a fork. It was really hard."

"Oh." Arizlynn turned over and looked at me. She looked pretty tired. And pretty. Pretty and pretty tired. "So that's why you were mumbling 'mama mia' over and over again. You woke me up." She laughed and then kissed me.

"Sorry." I wasn't. The spaghetti was pretty good.

"It's alright; the sun's coming up soon, anyway, so I have to go." She didn't even start to get up. I thought she was going to fall asleep again. I wished she would. I`d like to hear was mom and dad said when found us, sleeping in my bed together. Hilarity would _definitely _ensue. Greg would cry his eyes out.

"I'll call you."

"Yeah, sure."

I held on to her. I really didn't want her to go, as lame as that sounds. I wanted her to just stay there in bed, so I'd at least have something nice to look at when I woke up. And she didn't talk so much when she was tired, which was awesome-_er_.

I just kissed her, and closed my eyes again. She got out of bed and climbed out the window. Yeah, she should probably think about a career in climbing.


	5. The Complications Of Being Needed

Tonight I watched The Muppets, and felt an overwhelming urge to write this. I'm not entirely sure if the two events are related. We'll see.

* * *

**The Complications Of Being Needed**

**Greg's 'Journal'**

_July 9th_

_I've realized that Cookie is actually really smart. Sometimes she says does that just sounds weird and jumbled, but when you think about it, some of it actually makes a lot of sense, and she's much more sane than she pretends she is. She one of the most sane and smart I know right now. She likes to think about things, like I do, and I really like that about her. Rodrick is the exact opposite, so I don't understand them at all. He's obviously not very smart - even Cookie says so. So he can't appreciate her amazing brain..._

_Maybe she isn't as sane as I thought. I mean, wouldn't she go find someone just as smart as she is? And if she is so smart, why does she always act likes she so crazy all the time? It's like she wants people to think she's weird, and why someone wouldn't want to do that, I don't know. Or maybe..._

"..._she doesn't want people to like her. But that makes sense. She's smart, so maybe she knows something I don't._ You know, she probably does. Maybe she rejects conformity, because that puts her out of control, and she likes to be in control of the situation because that's what keeps her so sane. Yeah, I definitely think you're on to something here, wimpy one. You're smarter than you are tall!"

Cookie was sitting at the end of my bed, in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt, holding a book in her hands. Her hair was really messy, like she'd just woken up, and she looked really tired too. But she was smiling. Not a mean smile, but a nice one. It looked like she was just about to laugh, and her eyes twinkled, but she still seemed kind of sad. I didn't think I wanted to know why.

I guess this happened more often than I liked; getting woken up by someone ready my dia- Er, _journal_. At least this would probably be better than when Rodrick got a hold of it, considering she wasn't even laughing, and I was sleeping in more clothes, and we were in my bedroom, in my house. At night. Wait a second... "You should probably stop sneaking into my room at night. While I'm sleeping. It's a little bit creepy..."

"And you, my dear Gregory," Cookie said, "should probably close and lock your window. I've said it before and will say it a thousand times more if I have to. It's completely irresponsible. You're just invite creeps to crawl in through your window while you're sleeping! Could you imagine if it were someone other than me? Now _that_ would be creepy."

"I have to leave it open, because it's summer."

"Right, heat, got it. I just have a fan. But this," she held up my journal, "is really good stuff. Like, top-notch book material. And you're actually quite the artist, you should give me some lessons some time. Have you ever, like, thought about maybe sending this to a publisher, trying to get it published? I'm sure it'd do well. Very real and relatable."

"No way," I said. "Now way am I going let people read that stuff. It's... personal."

"It's awesome!" She smiled and threw the book at me. "Besides, you're always talking about being famous one day, but what for? You're not a musician, or an actor, and you've too big a conscience to be a politician and, whether you believe it or not; you're a terrible liar. Your not artist material - you're good, but not million-dollar-paintings good. But you can write really well and, mixed with your art-"

"But it's my life. I can't just write about my life!"

"_You _can. You're really funny, Gregory, and you get into some pretty interesting situations. It's just the kind of stuff people like; funny and zany but relatable in an interesting way. Just, like... think about it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Good."

"Umm, why are you here?"

"Other than to give you career advice?" I nodded. "Oh, you know, some crazy stuff went down with Violet tonight, and I just had to get out of there. I didn't really know where else to go. Sorry."

"You get into trouble with her a lot," I said. It wasn't a question, but she nodded. "Why don't you just talk to your brother about it? He can't ignore it. You don't like her, and she doesn't like you. It's pretty easy to see."

"Why don't you just talk to Rodrick about how he makes you feel, eh? It's just never that simple. Older brothers are... annoying."

"You're telling me?"

"Touché. Can I sleep on your floor?"

Well, no, first of all, when it's this hot, I sleep in my underwear, so this whole time I'd been holding my blanket to try and cover up because she's a girl, which is my second point. And third, my parents wouldn't like that very much. "Why did you come to me and not Rodrick?"

"Do you eat dinner for breakfast?"

"No?"

"Exactly."

"That doesn't make any sense," I pointed out.

"Give it some thought, and it will come to you. In the meantime, I'ma catch up on some sleep." I guess I could have put up more of a fight, but it was late, and I really tired, so I just watched her curl up on the floor, then laid back down and thought about what she'd said.

Does it mean she just likes me more? Is dinner better than breakfast? Breakfast has bacon and pancakes, right? Dinner has desert... Who's what, though? Am I breakfast, or dinner? Does it make me one of them at all? No, that doesn't really make any sense. What are they really? They're meals, I guess. And they... have specific jobs, right? "So, each one is for a certain job?"

"Precisely, my dear Gregory. And so?"

"You mean that you need him, you need me?"

"Exactamundo!"

"Why? That doesn't make sense."

"Because, Gregory, I just want some company and some space to sleep, and with Rodrick it'd be-"

"I get it," I interrupted, and shuddered. "I guess that makes sense. If you don't have any friends of your own."

"I would very proudly like to inform you I have some _very_ good friends who would be willing to let me crash on their floor. They just... live in, you know, Canada. You're the closest thing I have here. And I like you Gregory. You're... refreshing."

"Um... thanks."

"You should come hangout in the afternoon, watch a movie or something. Violet should be going out, and I could use some friendly company. Bring that kid with the bowl cut if you want."

"Rowley?"

"Yeah, that one."

Maybe things might be less weird if Rowley went with me. If I wanted to leave, I could use him as an excuse. And that way I wouldn't have to watch a movie alone with Rodrick's girlfriend. It's not that I didn't like her, because I did. I didn't know what it was that just made me... worried when I around her, like she might bite off my arm or something. Because I think that if I'm not too careful, she just might actually do that. "Sure."

* * *

"Greg, I want to go home."

"We can't leave yet, Rowley! The movie isn't even over, and we're going to play video games afterward. And she doesn't even _own_ any girly games! Plus, you can't leave me alone. What would Rodrick do?"

We were in the kitchen, Cookie was downstairs, waiting for us to come back. I was just supposed to show Rowley where the bathroom was. She would be getting suspicious soon. "That movie is way too scary. She's way too scary, Greg! He pyjama's have bunny rabbits on them. Her shirt says '_kill _everybody'. Is she nice, or mean?!"

"She's nice. Very nice. Just, calm down, Rowley. I know, she's hard to understand, but... I really like her. You just have to get to know her.

"You can stay, but I want to go home before she cooks us and eats us."

"She's not a witch! And what about Rodrick? What if he found out?"

"I don't think he really cares, Greg."

"Yeah, I don't think he does either." I didn't say that, and Rowley didn't either. Rowley was looking over my shoulder, looking terrified. "Because what could possibly happen between the two of you? Nothing, that's what, because you're nothing more than an annoying little twerp who just get downstairs instead of leaving the lovely lady waiting!"

"W-w-who are you?" Rowley asked.

"Ari's little brother," Kaelbus said. He was about our age, and just as tall, but something about him made him seem... scary. "Tell me, Greg, what were you expecting to happen when you got her alone?"

"I... don't know. Last night, she said she... needed me."

"She probably did. But we all _need_ our vegetables. It doesn't mean we _like _them."

That sounded sort of familiar. "I... guess not. Do you all do that? Say stuff like that, I mean?"

"What? Make clever comparisons? Yeah, we do. We're kind of a smart family."

Then I realized why he seemed so scary, just like Rodrick. "If you're so smart, why are wearing makeup?"

"I-it's just eyeliner." He curled in on himself suddenly, like he was... nervous or something. Rowley was still shaking like he was going to fall down. "Rodrick showed me how to put it on. Why? I-is it t-too much?"

"I think _any_ is too much."

"B-but Rodrick wears it!"

"Rodrick is _crazy_," I said.

"Rodrick is _awesome._"

"Wait. You actually _like_ him?" I asked. I couldn't believe it.

"Yes! You are so lucky to have him as an older brother. Instead, I have Ennis. He's really strict, but he lets Violet control us all she wants, like we're just her dolls or something. Plus, he HATES Rodrick. Ennis is just not even cool."

"He hates Rodrick? Maybe we should switch brothers?"

"Y-yes! Please!"

"Excuse me, boys," Cookie said, appearing in the doorway. She tapped her fingers on the door frame. "Can we move the slumber party into the basement so that we can finish our movie?"

"S-sorry, Cookie, but I have to go home," Rowley said, freezing up again. "I have an appointment."

"The movie was too scary afterall, Kael. I told you." Kaelbus laughed. "We don't have to finish it, Rowley, if you don't want to. We could just play some Twisted Wizard, have a tournament. Does that sound alright?"

"Yeah!" Rowley relaxed a bit.

"Sure," I said.

"You in, Kael?"

"Alright. But you two should know I'm a Twisted Wizard pro."

_We all went back downstairs and played for a few hours. It was actually a lot of fun. And even if Cookie's little brother was slowly turning into Rodrick, he was pretty cool. I don't think he'd make a good Rodrick. He's a little too nice. And he and Cookie got along really well, even though she complains about him a lot whenever I see her. Not as much as she complains about Ennis, but still a lot._

_I guess things with older and younger brothers and sisters are a lot more complicated than you think. Even if they're really annoying, and you complain about them a lot and you say you hate each other and pretend that they don't even exist, sometimes, you can get along. It seems like most of the time, you're fighting, but when you really need them, you can work it out, I guess. Sometimes Rodrick helps me out, even when Cookie's not around. So maybe Cookie should just talk to Ennis about Violet. Even Kaelbus hates her._


End file.
